Agriculture Ministry Says Reducing Nicotine in Local Tobacco Could Take Over 30 Years of Research
The Ministry of Agriculture has stated that the proposed restriction on nicotine and tar levels, currently under debate, cannot be implemented without a transition period of at least 30 years. Yudi Wahyudi, Head of the Annual Crops Directorate, explained that the ministry was not fully involved in the drafting process because the regulation is based on health laws rather than agricultural mandates. However, the ministry continues to provide supporting data on tobacco commodities.
From a production standpoint, Yudi emphasized that researchers at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and the Ministry of Agriculture need decades to develop a low-nicotine variety that is resilient in tropical conditions and economically viable for traditional farmers. Without such a lengthy transition, he warned, the local industry would collapse long before an ideal seed is ready. Lowering nicotine content through traditional non-GMO crossbreeding requires dozens of generations, as each cycle takes a full planting season to stabilize the desired traits without compromising pest resistance.
He noted that local varieties, such as Kemloko from Temanggung and Mole from West Java, naturally contain between 3% and 8% nicotine due to volcanic soil and tropical sun exposure. Drastically altering these levels would fundamentally change the geographical identity of the commodity, requiring generations of adaptation by farmers. Economically, if the regulation forces a reduction in tobacco acreage, the state would need at least 25 to 30 years to educate and transition millions of farmers to alternative crops of equivalent value.
Yudi acknowledged that achieving a nicotine content below 1% in dry leaves to meet proposed emission standards is the greatest biological challenge facing Indonesian agriculture. Tobacco is a highly site-specific crop, where genetic interaction with local climate and soil determines the final product. Furthermore, farmers will only adopt new varieties if they offer comparable market value and profitability to the traditional strains they currently cultivate.
Scientifically, Yudi outlined three potential pathways to reduce nicotine: conventional crossbreeding with foreign low-nicotine varieties, modern genetic engineering such as CRISPR to deactivate nicotine-producing enzymes in the roots, and agronomic modifications like reducing nitrogen fertiliser and eliminating traditional topping practices. However, he stressed that no pure local variety currently exists with nicotine levels below 1%, as the majority of Indonesian chopped and clove tobaccos naturally range between 3% and 8%. He concluded that even 30 years of research cannot guarantee a uniform new variety across the archipelago, given the inherent concept of terroir involving soil suitability, altitude, weather, and micro-climate.